Man set on fire with Molotov cocktail; police search for assailant

Long Beach police searched Monday for a man who threw a Molotov cocktail at another man who was sitting outside a market, setting him on fire and critically injuring him.

Police released surveillance video Sunday of the incident in an effort to help find the attacker.

The victim was sitting in front of a market in the 200 block of Pacific Coast Highway about 7 p.m. Friday when he was hit by a bottle filled with a flammable liquid.

He became “engulfed in flames,” said Sgt. Aaron Eaton. The attacker ran off and witnesses helped put out the flames, Eaton said.

The video showed a baby stroller also seeming to catch fire and a person pulling it away, but it was unclear if a baby was inside.

The victim, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition, Eaton said.

Officers do not know the identity of the attacker.

“There is no motive known,” Eaton said. “The victim was just siting there just minding his own business.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Long Beach Fire Department arson hotline at (562) 570-2582.

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-- From a Los Angeles Times staff writer